This Man Was Born With His Heart Beating Outside Of His Ribcage

This Man Was Born With His Heart Beating Outside Of His Ribcage

Incredible footage has emerged which shows an Indian teenager who was born with his heart outside of his ribcage, and the organ can be seen beating underneath a thin layer of skin.

Now 18-years-old, Arpit Gohil has been hailed as a “medical miracle” by doctors, who didn’t think he would survive after he was born with the extremely rare condition ‘ectopia cordis’.

The genetic defect, also known as Pentalogy of Cantrell, causes babies to be born with vital organs on the outside of their bodies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c5QGc49X2w

Because of the defect, Arpit’s heart is not protected by the chest wall and is located slightly above the stomach and just below the rib cage, causing his heart to beat on the outside of his chest.

Arpit is one of just 165 people known to have the condition, and it probably doesn’t feel like much of a miracle to the poor lad given that a slight fall or bump could kill him instantly.

With that kind of prognosis, we’d be safely holed up indoors wrapped in copious amounts of cotton wool, but Arpit hasn’t let his condition affect his life and he’s busy climbing trees, driving tractors, and showing off his beating heart to everyone who asks in Nadiad – his home village in Gujarat, India.

Divyabhaskar.com

Speaking to Indian news site Daily Bhaskar, Arpit said:

I don’t have any problems, and have got used to living with the condition now. I can do everything like a normal person and don’t have any trouble with my jobs on the farm, whether it be tilling the land, driving a tractor or riding a bike.

Arpit is now reportedly considering surgery to fix the defect which would probably be a good idea since the idea of doing hard labour work on a farm with this condition is bloody terrifying, quite frankly!